The New 1996 Krug: 98pts for 1998

Yesterday late the Wine Spectator published the Wine Spectator Advance. This is an insight into the November 30th issue. The big shocker: Krug 1998 has been upgraded to 98 points!

Plus last Wednesday in the Wine Spectator Insider there were more scores on Krug Champagnes. The 1998 Clos du Mesnil ($859) was downgraded from 98 points to 97 points and the 1998 Clos d'Ambonnay ($2,399) received 95 points.

So putting all the new press and reviews from Wine Spectator together…means that Krug Vintage 1998 is now the highest rated Krug Champagne of the 1998 vintage. At 98 points, the 1998 Krug is now only one point shy of the blockbuster 1996 Krug and tied with several vintages of Clos du Mesnil and the fantastic 1995 Krug for the honor of the second highest rated Krug Champagne ever from Wine Spectator.

Does that make 1998 Krug the closest thing to a repeat of 1996? That is hard to say but both are "impressive" and both have garnered great press from the Wine Spectator.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 1998 Krug in the Top 10 Wines of the Year from Wine Spectator's Top 100 list due out in November. The 1996 was #10 in 2007 at 99 points and designated as a “Collectible” in the magazine.

The 1998 is now rated 98 points and designated as a “Collectible” as well. So the possibility is there.

But the other news regarding the 1998 we must share is that we can now offer this beauty for $250 per bottle. This was not the case upon release where the price was more like $300 per bottle. Which by the way the 1996 Krug is now averaging at auction $326 per bottle according to Wine Spectator. Now that make the 1998 Krug back down at $250 per bottle seem more like.